Filings on National EAS Test Results Due Next Week

By Paul A. Cicelski

Paul A. Cicelski

In what now seems like ages ago, the FCC and FEMA conducted the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System back on November 9, 2011. While the FCC and FEMA are continuing to review and analyze what went right and what went wrong during the national test, EAS Participants should not forget that their work may not be done. As we discussed immediately following the test, the FCC has mandated that EAS Participants submit the full results of their test to the FCC, either online or on paper, no later than December 27, 2011.

I reported back in October that the FCC created three separate forms for purposes of reporting a station’s test results. Stations should have completed Form 1 prior to the test, providing background information regarding the station’s facilities and equipment, and Form 2 on or as close as possible to the November 9 test date, providing information on whether or not the station received the national test alert and whether the alert was passed along.

In Form 3, the FCC has asked for more detailed information on the success or failure of the test. We were the first to point out publicly that there is a conflict in dates between the FCC’s form page on the website which indicates that the deadline is December 24, and the FCC’s National EAS Test Public Notice which indicates that the deadline is December 27. However, the FCC’s filing rules and discussions we have had with FCC staff confirm that the official deadline is December 27.

So if you have not done so already, make sure to submit the required information about the success or failure of your EAS equipment during the national test prior to next week’s deadline.